>

  Martina laughed finally, telling the distressed adolescent, << At least for a little while, she is safe. Right now, she is burrowed into the fur on my neck and is sound asleep and purring. >>

  Jehani went limp with relief, and Chimeg found herself petting him in reassurance. Reluctantly the young male cat asked, << Do you want me to take her off of you? >>

  Martina answered back, << Not necessary. Why do you not catch a quick nap while she is sleeping? That way, you will at least be a little recharged when she wakes up and wants to go charging off after something else! >>

  There was a flash of gratitude, and the surprised Seer felt the young cat in her arms go immediately boneless, dropping without warning into a deep sleep. That is a good trick, she thought to herself.

  Chimeg made another complete circuit around the area, please to see that all the groups appear to be working well together. She paused briefly next to the Strategic Approach group, where Jeremiah was explaining the layout of his estate. Intensely curious, the woman listened silently.

  The Earth Witch was saying, “… bought the Château many decades ago. It may look broken down on the outside, but it was initially constructed during an intense period of repeated wars and is built like a fortress. The inside is highly renovated and heavily warded. It has a significant tactical advantage provided by an extensive network of tunnels.”

  When asked about the reach of the tunnels, Jeremiah answered, “There are many destination points, with all of them invisible from the outside. One of the most advantageous is a tunnel that runs from the Château over to the Northwest corner of this enclosure.”

  When the discussion became general, Chimeg continued to move around. Her mind was spinning from everything she had heard, but her thoughts refused to settle on any single aspect. Familiar with that feeling, the Journeyman Seer knew better than to attempt to force her focus in any specific direction. Instead, she just let herself float in her thoughts and continued to amble.

  As Chimeg and Martina were moving past the Southern entry to the enclosure, there was a shrieking alert from Khan Oktai from far overhead. The sound pierced the Seer’s ears and caused an explosion of Ravens and other raptors from their perches around the enclosure. The mercenaries reacted by racing for the guard towers and walls, drawing their weapons and looking for danger.

  While most of the inhabitants of the enclosed yard ran for the perimeter, Chimeg was pulled toward the empty space in the middle. Standing there with her Familiar, the woman totally forgot about the cat in her arms and the kitten buried in Martina’s fur. Searching the sky with a sense of desperation, the Seer shielded her eyes and swept her gaze from one side to the other until she saw a cloud of Ravens surrounding the laboring figure of another large raptor.

  The bird was obviously in distress, one wing appearing partially scorched. The normally smooth glide of a large air predator had become a jerky clawing progress through the atmosphere. Its movement was not improved by a bundle hanging from its talons.

  Chimeg’s chest was aching, and her arms burned in sympathy. Her eyes were locked on the drama happening high overhead, and she did not even twitch as Gan Gerel ran up to her side, almost sobbing. Jehani had wakened and was perched on the Seer’s shoulder, his eyes also locked on the rescue efforts.

  Without moving her focus, the Seer demanded, “What is happening? That looks too small for Khan Oktai.”

  The Eagle Hunter answered between her sobbing gasps, “Not him. Blood Mage damage. Refuses to drop package. The Ravens have a plan, but I do not understand it!”

  There was a swirl of fur as the massive Bankhar dogs surrounded the Seer, standing shoulder to shoulder and creating a soft landing pad. Encircling the dogs, the thunder of hooves preceded a crowd of the heavy-coated Mongolian ponies forming a secondary ring of cushiony surface, crowding in to prevent any gap.

  Her heart in her throat, Chimeg watched as the Ravens worked in teams of four, sliding together and under the laboring raptor and using their backs to hold his body up. As soon as the bird was stabilized at one level, another team appeared below them and tightened up their formation. Gradually, the support team descended, before moving outward and spilling the injured bird onto the lower group.

  The Ravens brought the massive bird closer to the ground. Soon everyone in the enclosure was staring up at the drama playing above them. As the Ravens kept taking turns, exhaustion began to set in, and their formation got a little sloppier. Several times, the transitions between teams were a bit rough, while the movement of the damaged bird's wings became weaker.

  About twenty feet above the ground, the support formation finally failed, and the large raptor dropped toward the ground, weakly beating his wings in a vain attempt to remain airborne. The Seer screamed and started toward the left, her arms outstretched.

  The injured bird flipped in midair, tucking his bundle against his chest and wrapping his wings protectively around it. His gliding ability destroyed, the raptor immediately began to plummet toward the ground.

  Chimeg knew that he was sacrificing his life for the possible survival of whatever he carried, and the woman’s heart pounded in her chest as she watched his body fall toward her. Suddenly, a geyser of water exploded from the ground immediately under the falling bird, blasting the dogs away from the spot and soaking Chimeg and Gan Gerel. The water spout slid up under the raptor, slowing his descent.

  The Seer spun around, wildly searching for the caster of the spell. Twenty feet away from her, Jeremiah stood with his feet firmly planted on the ground, glowing with a deep-green light. Outlined in the same color, Davin stood next to his Witch, a blinding rainbow of fire burning in his eyes as the Witch and his Familiar carefully lowered the bird onto the ground.

  With an abrupt dismissal, the spell winked out of existence, the water soaking immediately into the ground. Gan Gerel sprinted over to the motionless body of the raptor, closely followed by every Healer in the group.

  The Ravens once again perched around the enclosure, as the mercenaries and warriors kept watch outward for other danger. No others crowded closer to the injured animal. Instead, they left the Healers room to work. The Seer felt relieved knowing that even while most of the people watched with bated breath as the damaged and exhausted raptor received emergency care, the gathering still remained protected.

  Moving through the maze of spectators, Chimeg determinedly made her way over to where she had last seen Jeremiah and Davin. Realizing they had moved, the woman caught a flash of motion and realized that Familiar had guided the exhausted Witch over next to the stone wall that formed the enclosure.

  The drained man had dropped to the ground bracing his back against the wall and closing his eyes as he buried his fingers in the dirt. Swirls of green energy traveled up his arms as he recharged and centered his Power. Wordlessly, the Seer squatted next to him, placing her hand on his shoulder and quietly comforting him. For a few moments, Chimeg just relaxed next to the Earth Witch as he recharged from the source of his Magic.

  A cheer rang up from the group in the center, and it spread to every throat in the enclosure. Chimeg looked over and saw that the raptor was on his feet, making shaky progress toward the shaded shelter of a tent.

  Shocked motion from two other Healers drew Chimeg’s attention. When one of them stood up and yelled for the Wizard, Chimeg got up and took several steps in that direction before a scream in her mind whipped her head around to track an older kitten that was leaping across the packed backs of the ponies and dogs heading for where the Wizard now knelt with the Healers.

  Forgotten until now, Jehani launched off of Chimeg’s shoulder, also screaming at the top of his lungs. It took a split second before the Seer understood what the two young cats were saying. The kitten scrambling over the standing horses was crying, << Mama! Mama! >> At the same time, Jehani was also yelling, << Seralla, Seralla! >>

  Limping out from between all of the Healers still kneeling, came a staggering, young female cat. She had not gotten more than a couple of steps before the kitten reached her, slamming into her side and sobbing, << Mama! I never thought I was going to see you again! >>

  In the dead mental silence that surrounded the enclosure, everyone heard the young female say, << Maeve, my little daughter. I never thought I would see you either. >>

  Amid all the confusion, the Wizard stood up, holding two large eggs in his hands. The chalky white ovals were enclosed in an exterior framework of Magical fire. It appeared that the Magical containment was both holding the cracked shells together and warming them at the same time.

  Another Healer stood, holding a scarf wrapped around two tiny kittens, so young that their eyes were not even opened. Seralla looked up and begged the Healer, << Please tell me my babies are okay, I have already lost one today I cannot bear losing anymore! >>

  The woman gently smiled, saying out loud, “These two babies are just fine. They got a little chilled, and we have to make sure to warm them up well. Shortly, we will have all of you next to a nice warm fire, and you can take some time to rest and recover.”

  The remaining Healer rose, carrying a large, battered Tomcat in his arms. At the sight of the massive cat, another small kitten charged across the ground, dodging hooves and legs, all while yelling for his father. Moving carefully, the surrounding horses and ponies gave the frantically screaming baby a clear path toward the injured cat. Before the Healer could kneel, the kitten had jumped as high as it could on the man’s leg and was clawing its way toward the unconscious animal in his arms.

  There was a momentary silence before the entire group erupted into a joyous celebration. Only a few heard the mournful feline cry of a crouched small kitten as she realized that her mother had not made it. Chimeg took one step in that direction before she saw that Helene had pulled the kitten up into her arms and was curled around the grieving feline, adding her tears.

  Chimeg was not the only person who had noticed the cry, from where he was huddled next to Seralla, Jehani sprang up as if jabbed by a sharp needle. His anguished mental cry of, << Oh dear God, Miko! Where is Miko? And Snowstripe, what am I going to tell her? >> The adolescent cat took off at a flat run heading back to where the other kittens had been.

  The Seer drew a sharp breath and felt a pang of anguish that seemed to resonate with the tiny kitten’s mournful wails that she felt more than heard. Trying to calm herself down, Chimeg suddenly was jabbed with another wave of pain from her Familiar.

  The Seer looked over at Martina, just as a sleepy-eyed tiny kitten’s head popped out from the thick fur surrounding the large canine’s neck. Responding to a mental picture from the big dog, the woman carefully picked the kitten up in her hands and let Martina take the scruff in its mouth. Moving quickly, the Seer’s Familiar took Snowstripe toward the quiet isolation of the Seer’s tent.

  Torn between joy and sorrow, the Seer turned to look for Jeremiah. The Witch had moved about twenty feet away from the outside fortification and had his back to the empty space in the corner, and was watching the reunion of the cats.

  With that unique perspective, Chimeg was the only one that saw a concealed door open. To her terror, a pair of cats and two dangerous looking warriors emerged inside the protected enclosure. Projecting her voice as loudly as she could, Chimeg called a warning to Jeremiah.

  The Earth Witch spun in place, prepared to throw a spell but froze for a moment at the sight of the strangers. As he broke his immobility to take off in a stumbling run toward the newcomers, Jeremiah yelled, “TT, we have missed you! But why are you here?”

  The smaller of the two strange cats took off for the Witch at a sprint. Chimeg could see its luxuriant white fur around some pieces of what appeared to be a garment. Jeremiah was also running, sweeping the cat up in his arms as it jumped at him.

  Everyone in the enclosure heard her answer, << Jeremiah, we missed you too! The window for access is closing. We could not stand idly by when there was a chance of bringing you back with us before it was too late. Please tell us you will come! >>

  << I hate to be such a pain, but does anybody care that the rest of us came? >> asked an unknown voice. << It would be really nice if someone said something like, ‘We are glad you are here too, Jack.’ Or even, ‘YAH, you brought two more mercenaries!’ >>

  Davin strolled out into an empty area and sat on the ground, stretching his leg up and beginning to groom the back of his thigh. His mental voice rang out, saying sarcastically, << We are glad you are here too, Jack. And it is wonderful that you brought two more mercenaries! Hopefully, that is enough to deal with your ego. What I want to know is, did you remember to bring the sardines? >>

  With the yowl of hissing laughter, the other strange cat strolled out to sit next to Davin, and looked around at his staring audience. Yawning widely, Jack announced, << It looks like you have got everybody gathered. It is a good thing that your friendly native guides have shown up. >>

  As soon as she saw the cat leap into Jeremiah’s arms, Chimeg had relaxed and taken a deep breath. Shaking her head from all the excitement of the day, the Seer turned to head toward the central fire and a bench that she might rest on. She could feel her muscles starting to tremble and knew that she was getting close to overload again.

  She was still two steps away from her targeted bench when a flash of heat and light announce another Vision. This time the Vision played in front of her rather than wrapping around her senses and body.

  The intensity of it was so high that she struggled to breathe until the warmth of Martina’s body was suddenly next to her, and her Familiar bond was bright with donated energy. Twined with her Familiar’s Power, was a tiny thread of sorrow. The Seer had just enough time to realize that the trickle of Power was feline in nature before the Vision took her completely.

  Playing out in front of Chimeg’s eyes was a horrific ritual, elaborate and powered by hundreds of sacrifices. Unable to look away, the Seer saw a mighty wind exploding out from the casting circle, stripping all Magic as it went. Familiars, Witches, Mages. Every bit of Magic was ripped from Paris. Her Vision was brutal and uncompromising, showing her dead bodies of many that she somehow knew.

  A woman knelt by a dead man, holding corpses of a small girl and boy in her arms. She was sobbing helplessly as the names Dora, Brandon, Phil, and Maddie floated through the Seer’s head.

  Once more, the Vision of the ritual played and then froze in front of Chimeg. A golden light outlined a clock on the wall behind the casting circle. The time shown emblazoned itself in her brain with a painful flash.

  Now desperately sobbing, Chimeg pleaded for the Vision to release her, but the River of Time was not done with her yet. There was another swirl of imagery, and the Seer was suddenly standing in the middle of a Blood Mage’s sanctum.

  Men and women were standing frozen at the major cardinal points, and the Seer recognized the face of the man she had Seen as dead in the previous flash. He was caught in the same immobility spell as the others, but she could see that his eyes were still aware and filled with intense despair and immeasurable anger.

  The two senior Blood Mages that were walking around the room were discussing the ceremony. One of them said to the other, “Be careful with that athame. It and the amulet are irreplaceable. If either of them is damaged, we will be unable to complete the ceremony.”

  The other man replied confidently, “Stop being such a worrywart. The only people that know where they are hidden are the two of us, and these stupid cattle locked in our circle. Since they are never going to go free, we have no risk. In less than 30 hours, you and I will be rulers of the world.”

  The Vision ripped away from Chimeg without sending her into unconsciousness. The Seer stumbled slightly, grabbing onto the fur of her Familiar to keep her balance. Gasping, the woman straightened up and realized that she was the center of all eyes. Blushing slightly, she did not know what to say to break the silence, but that problem was solved by someone else.

  Almost in chorus, the Mercenary Commander and the Witch Jeremiah asked, “Seer, what did you see?”

  Straightening up, Chimeg said with a calm heart and crystal-hard determination, “The good news is that I saw how we can stop the Blood Mages’ Great Casting. The difficulty is that we will have to do that as we leave this planet forever. The bad news is that we only have 28 hours.”

  Author’s Notes

  Welcome to the end of the fourth book in the Familiar Magic Series. I have to say that this was an incredibly difficult book to write. Not only did it take much longer than expected, but it was a more significant undertaking than I had planned.

  This story brings the repudiated Persian Familiar TT back to Earth for one last attempt to rescue those that she cares about. She and her Uncle Jack are joined by two mercenaries who also left comrades behind. All for have been haunted by terrible fears for those still absent ever since.

  Although the plotline was initially quite straightforward, I found when I got into the writing of the story that there were too many pieces that needed to be braided in. What resulted from my efforts is a complex and much longer story than any I have written in this series.

  In my mind, the characters in the series are developing their strengths and analyzing their weakness to continue to grow and improve. They have hope in life, irrespective of what is happening around them. I like to think that that is something that I am building to my own life.

  I have a lot planned for the people, Familiars, and Hidden Folk that are mentioned in this story. With a list of over 40 short stories that I would like to create to tell individual stories and events, this tale of evolution and an epic journey leads into the final Exodus as the last of my beloved characters remove themselves from Terra.